Friday, March 28, 2014

Easy DIY Backyard Bird Feeder Craft for Toddlers

Here in Missouri, spring visited us for about three days - and then went away again. It's been cold and snowing here in the last week. Sigh.

I think we're out of the woods when it comes to snow days, though, so I'm making lists of ways to keep my little ones entertained if it's ever warm enough to go outside. We've been spending a lot of time looking out our windows at the bunnies, squirrels, and birds that frequently visit our yard, and I thought Lincoln would enjoy doing a project that would make our animal watching even more enjoyable. So, a few days ago, we waited until Addie went down for a (20-minute) nap to break out some craft supplies and make ourselves a nifty little backyard bird feeder.

Okay, so we actually had to make a trip to Target to get bird seed (and clearance twine, because...it was Target and it was on clearance, duh) before we could even think about doing this craft, so our project was a little slow to start. But we finally made it home and set to crafting.

This is a super simple project that my spirited three-year-old actually really enjoyed. So that's a win in my book!

1. Gather Supplies. We used an apple, peanut butter, bird seed, and twine.

2. Gather an Eager Little Helper. Well, that part was really easy!

3. Cut apple in half, horizontally. Only mommies are allowed to use knives, though.

4. Use the knife to cut a hole in each apple slice. My holes turned out like giant rectangles, but my kid is three. He thought it was awesome regardless of how it looked.

5. Use a spoon to spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice. Tasting is optional and encouraged.

Yummy.

6. Use a spoon to add bird seed on top of the peanut butter. Please note that regardless of how big a plate you use, there will still be seed all over the floor. In hindsight, this would be a great outdoor craft.

7. Loop a piece of twine through the hole in your apple slices, tie, and hang on a tree or shrub! Then enjoy your child's glee every single time you say "Hey! Are there any birds eating from your bird feeder right now?!"

We're definitely going to be making these multiple times this year. And no, it's not just because I now have a 10-pound bag of bird seed in my pantry. It was a kid crafting success!